London, 2 sep (EFE).-Greenpeace reported today that the emergency plan of the Scottish company Cairn Energy in the case of a spill of oil in the Arctic is inadequate, and warned that it would be almost impossible to clean up a spill in the region Arctic.
In a statement, the environmental group accuses company of irresponsibility after analyzing, together with international experts the contingency plan to discharges of oil in the Arctic associated with exploration of petroleum in Greenland.
The exprofesor of the University of Alaska Richard Steiner, a marine biologist recognized as international expert on oil spills, has carried out a review of the documents of Cairn for Greenpeace and has warned that the oil company “exaggerate greatly the potential effectiveness of any response to spills”.
“The Cairn plan makes many assumptions questionable in its analysis of risk and response to spills.” “Dramatically underestimates the magnitude and impact potential of an explosion of one of its four wells, and exaggerates the potential effectiveness of any response to a spill in an extreme manner,” says Steiner.
“Response to spills in ice – covered seas adds – is virtually impossible, and this plan fails to address adequately the magnitude of the logistical needs to deal with a spill off the coast of Greenland”.
The company, which began work on the coasts of Greenland approximately two years ago, currently drilled at least four exploration wells in the icy waters of the Davis Strait (Greenland), says Greenpeace.
Some of these wells reach depths of up to 1,500 metres, similar to the of the rugged well Macondo firm BP in the Gulf of Mexico, crashed last year. EFE
